PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Brown's offense tried desperately to score. The Bears tried play-action passes. They attempted reverses. They pulled guards and tackles on their sweeps. Brown even attempted to go deep. But each time, with calculated precision, Penn stopped the Bears as suddenly, and with as much force, as a demolition ball. The tone for the game was set early. After an unexpected reverse on the opening kickoff, the Bears already had the ball on their 46-yard line. But then Kevin Allen swatted away a deep bomb. Then Tom McGarrity slammed Marquis Jessie to the ground on a pitch. And after Paul Fichiera was stopped after gaining just a few yards, Brown coach Mark Whipple called in the punter. "Every game, we want to hold a team to three-and-out," Penn nose guard Chris Johnson said. "As the season's gone on, we've gained some momentum. We just come out ready to play week in and week out." But Saturday was not just another game. It was something special. It was a unique performance during Penn's current 17-game winning streak. Saturday, the Quakers pitched their first shutout since Oct. 24, 1992, when they overwhelmed these same Bears, 38-0. "Is it really?" coach Al Bagnoli asked after his third shutout at the helm for Penn. "You guys have all the trivia. That will be a trivia answer someday." Actually, the yardage Brown gained in the first half was trivial. The Quakers held the Bears to only four yards in the first quarter, and only 45 in the half. After that initial possession, Brown found itself down 7-0, and already Whipple, who suffered his first shutout as a head coach, felt the need to go to the air. But that may have not been the best answer for the Bears. On the few attempts when Brown quarterback Jason McCullough was able to avoid the constant Quaker pressure, his receivers either were blanketed by the Penn defensive backs, or they dropped routine passes. In fact, the Bears never even made it past midfield until after halftime, when the contest was already well out of reach. Coming out down by 24 points, even Whipple admitted he never thought Brown had a chance to come back. The Penn pressure was just too intense. Senior co-captain Michael Turner recorded two sacks and just barely missed many others. McCullough was sent scrambling on countless plays. "The key was the defensive linemen and the linebackers," senior safety Nick Morris said. "They really put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. He didn't have any time." But even when McCullough (9 for 28, 112 yards) did manage a crisp and accurate throw, it was most likely dropped. Fichiera dropped multiple passes. Brown tight end Tom Hornsby dropped a pass. Charlie Buckley dropped a sure touchdown pass. And when Buckley finally seemed to catch a pass for a score, he realized he was substantially out of the back of the end zone. "They have a lot of weapons," Goodwillie said. "They can make a big play out of any play they run. We were fortunate that they didn't have a whole lot of big plays against us. That really was the story of the game." No, the story of the game was the Quaker defense. Even when it appeared as if Brown was finally going to get on the scoreboard with a 32-yard field goal, the Bears' hopes were soundly rejected as Michael Juliano leapt into the air and sent the ball back toward the Brown end zone. That was the story of the game.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
